Why do “professionals” give bad advice?

[Jerold]

The loop burns out within a week or two and you replace it or when you don't have any new tips, you twist them together. ergo, just buy a fatter tip. Had an installer tell me my same gun finally shorted on him and turned the whole tip molten red, then it dropped off. Burnt through the customer's floor mat, carpet and straight to the pan. They had to repair the whole thing, new floormat etc. Worked the balls in December and January installing everyone's remote starters. zapped myself twice in the same day with this gun lol


that's not what the last one cost, that's for sure!

I'd bet the actual tip is just a chunk of metal. If you can get the screw out of the end and take a look at it, you might be able to find a replacement, clean that one up or possibly make one. If you're going to chuck it in the trash, it's worth a try.

A YT video on making soldering tips. He just some heavy gauge copper and cuts to the right shape.

 

[KnowAir]

IDK how advisable it is, but when the chisel tip of my little Weller soldering iron gets pitted and nasty, I just hit it with a 4" angle grinder for a refresh. The tip on that Craftsman could probably use a "refresh" and work just fine, at least for a little while. I'd grind an angle on it and try it, nothing to lose?

 

[Tex Koder]

That old tip doesn't look all that bad.. should have plenty of life in it left.

Like KnowAir suggested, give it a good cleaning/grind and that tip should be reusable.

 

[ScaleJunkie]

This is my go to, can't stand dealing with the power wires and this gets up to temp very quickly. I don't use flux but it does make things easier.
https://www.jbtools.com/power-probe...1C2sG3VgZ_GgyeLe36ceQ5eEsxwSzVQMaArPrEALw_wcB
This is what I use to hold things together, makes it sooo much easier.
https://www.jbtools.com/lisle-55000-magnetic-soldering-clamp/?refSrc=18331&nosto=productpage-nosto-8

A lot of good advice in here.

 

[pierre1111]

I forget the chemistry behind it…. But aggressive abrasive cleaning of iron tips is generally not recommended in industry. The primary base metal of iron tips is copper but there are thin platings of … again, not sure, but want to say nickel.

Once the nickel is worn through and the base copper is exposed to liquid solder/flux/heat at high temps it will corrode and begin to actually dissolve. You’ll see some tips get severely disfigured or where a large tip to where solder won’t stick to a particular spot.

You can do it, not saying it’s impossible, but if you have to take anything abrasive to your iron tip to clean it, don’t expect it to last. That’s why cleaning wool is brass and not steel.

 

[KnowAir]

I forget the chemistry behind it…. But aggressive abrasive cleaning of iron tips is generally not recommended in industry. The primary base metal of iron tips is copper but there are thin platings of … again, not sure, but want to say nickel.

Once the nickel is worn through and the base copper is exposed to liquid solder/flux/heat at high temps it will corrode and begin to actually dissolve. You’ll see some tips get severely disfigured or where a large tip to where solder won’t stick to a particular spot.

You can do it, not saying it’s impossible, but if you have to take anything abrasive to your iron tip to clean it, don’t expect it to last. That’s why cleaning wool is brass and not steel.

Fair enough, I can believe it. I buy cheap irons so I don't have to worry about them TBH. A 40watt Weller is around $25. If I get a couple years out of it, which I already have, then I'm happy. Replacement tips are about $5 each, I just looked them up. And yes, you are correct, the tips consist of..
"These solid copper tips are precision ground and plated with iron, nickel, and chromium" according to Weller. So yeah, my "tip" is compromised, LOL!!

 

[ScaleJunkie]

I forget the chemistry behind it…. But aggressive abrasive cleaning of iron tips is generally not recommended in industry. The primary base metal of iron tips is copper but there are thin platings of … again, not sure, but want to say nickel.

Once the nickel is worn through and the base copper is exposed to liquid solder/flux/heat at high temps it will corrode and begin to actually dissolve. You’ll see some tips get severely disfigured or where a large tip to where solder won’t stick to a particular spot.

You can do it, not saying it’s impossible, but if you have to take anything abrasive to your iron tip to clean it, don’t expect it to last. That’s why cleaning wool is brass and not steel.

Yes, this is very much true, on my iron I have worn out 3 tips from just normal use, it's crazy to watch them erode away like that.

 

[Jerold]

Cross post from RCT.

https://www.rctalk.com/forum/threads/hakko-ft-700.142014/

 

[Luke66]

So the start of my anger is the local hobby store selling me IC5 connectors and a 50w soldering iron to solder 10 gauge wire to my battery connector. Well the damn thing melts the plastic before it tins the connector. I went back and bought a new connector and they sold me a $140 new soldering gun that is 100 watts. Same result. Now Im furious with a pile of useless crap. Does anyone have any real advice on how to solder thick wires without getting a third degree burn from the insulation melting off before the solder penetrates the wire?

Why? cuz they're dumb. And they then think they're smart. So, I just avoid "Pros"
Unless it's online cuz then I can just block them BWAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!
But most seem nice so I have yet to block anyone. This post is worthless.

 

[ScaleJunkie]

The 2 guys that work at my local hobby shop are morons, told me "You can't use a Tactic TTX300 for rear steer." Oh ok, except you can program the 3rd channel and that's exactly what I did on my daughters Everest 10. It has full left, center, and full right with the click of a button.

 

[SirCrashALot]

When i ordered my first sensored Castle Creations system, i had to go back to the my LHS to get a program card, since the motor direction was inverted. And you can't just switch motor wires on a sensored setup. Right?
When i asked them to get me a program card and show me how to change direction, the guy immediately switched two wires and was about to turn the ESC on right after.

 

[Jerold]

When i ordered my first sensored Castle Creations system, i had to go back to the my LHS to get a program card, since the motor direction was inverted. And you can't just switch motor wires on a sensored setup. Right?
When i asked them to get me a program card and show me how to change direction, the guy immediately switched two wires and was about to turn the ESC on right after.

Correct, you shouldn't "swap" two wires on sesnored motors.

The problem with "Professionals" is they don't read AF.